Yoma Myanmar Tea Company
About us
As a political asylee from Myanmar, few would think that Sai Kyaw would soon work to become an entrepreneur and the founder of a gateway tea company.
Sai came to the U.S in 1993, but before that he was raised in the fields of a tea farm in the northern part of the Shan State in Myanmar. Even as a child, Sai knew the basics about cultivating and harvesting tea and producing delicious Burmese fermented tea. The family business was already in his blood.
Many years after Sai settled down in America working at various jobs and growing his own family, he decided it was time to spread Myanmar’s little known name to the world. How? With the national dish, which was tea salad.
Sai opened a restaurant in the city of Boston, Massachusetts in February of 2007, and called it Yoma. There, to this day he serves traditional, and modern Myanmar cuisine. The biggest hit, was the different, yet amazing tea salad (Laphet Thote). The staple salad of Myanmar was now popular in Boston also, so Sai decided to make a business out of it.
Enter, Yoma Myanmar Tea Company, established in 2013. Sai quickly spread the news of edible tea in Tea Salad - which was now synonymous with Myanmar, all across the U.S in various stores and restaurants. It is also gaining global recognition, but that is a process he still works on every day. Yoma Myanmar Tea was built on spreading the taste and culture of Myanmar, in distributing classic, all natural Myanmar foods, with the main star being the Zayan Pickled Tea, straight from Sai’s family own tea farm located at Namsan, Northern Shan State of Myanmar.
We continue to guarantee providing you with the healthy, unique Myanmar taste in which you cannot find anywhere else.
What is Yoma Myanmar tea?
In Burmese "tea" is called "laphet". More than 2000 years ago, a king named Manith Sithu brought a tea seed from his journeys. While going back to his palace, he stopped at the ZaYan village. Since the ZaYan people recognized and welcomed their king graciously, he gave them the tea seed as a gift. The ZaYan people had no knowledge of how to properly associate with the king. They were supposed to accept the tea seed using two hands (lat neh phet = two hands). But instead they took the tea seed with one hand (lat teh phet = one hand). Later that they found out they were wrong the way they treated the king and they felt so embarrassed. After they grew the tea plant they named it the "lat te’ phet" plant, meaning one hand plant. But over time as people started to say it more and more, it was shortened to the "laphet" = tea.
We consume tea as a drink in many different ways such as bitter to sweet (or) very light to thick (or) hot to cold drink. There are other countries growing tea and drinking tea, but Myanmar is the only country that eats tea in a salad. Tea leaves in salad? For those who have eaten it before, they felt the spirit of adventure. Considered the national dish of Myanmar, it’s the dish that royalty feasted on for special occasions, the people of the house would give to the guests tea salad and hot tea as a refreshment. That tradition is still followed in Myanmar today.
Tea salad is an eclectic mix of flavors and textures, that includes, soft, pickled tea leaves, crisp, roasted peanuts as well as other crunchy beans, toasted sesame seeds, and fried garlic. With all the ingredients in separate piles, guests can make their own combination. In Myanmar's history tea salad was an ancient symbolic peace offering between warring kingdoms, and was exchanged and consumed after settling a dispute.
In Burmese "tea" is called "laphet". More than 2000 years ago, a king named Manith Sithu brought a tea seed from his journeys. While going back to his palace, he stopped at the ZaYan village. Since the ZaYan people recognized and welcomed their king graciously, he gave them the tea seed as a gift. The ZaYan people had no knowledge of how to properly associate with the king. They were supposed to accept the tea seed using two hands (lat neh phet = two hands). But instead they took the tea seed with one hand (lat teh phet = one hand). Later that they found out they were wrong the way they treated the king and they felt so embarrassed. After they grew the tea plant they named it the "lat te’ phet" plant, meaning one hand plant. But over time as people started to say it more and more, it was shortened to the "laphet" = tea.
We consume tea as a drink in many different ways such as bitter to sweet (or) very light to thick (or) hot to cold drink. There are other countries growing tea and drinking tea, but Myanmar is the only country that eats tea in a salad. Tea leaves in salad? For those who have eaten it before, they felt the spirit of adventure. Considered the national dish of Myanmar, it’s the dish that royalty feasted on for special occasions, the people of the house would give to the guests tea salad and hot tea as a refreshment. That tradition is still followed in Myanmar today.
Tea salad is an eclectic mix of flavors and textures, that includes, soft, pickled tea leaves, crisp, roasted peanuts as well as other crunchy beans, toasted sesame seeds, and fried garlic. With all the ingredients in separate piles, guests can make their own combination. In Myanmar's history tea salad was an ancient symbolic peace offering between warring kingdoms, and was exchanged and consumed after settling a dispute.